Posting tray for bookkeeping machines



R. A. PHANEUF POSTING TRAY FOR BOOKKEEPING MACHINES Jan. 30, 1951 Filed Dec. 12, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. RAYMOND Fl. PHHNE UF HTTOR'NEY i atented Jan. 30, 195i POSTING TRAY FOR BOQKKEEPING MACHINES Raymond A. Phaneuf, Vsaterbury, Conn.

Application December 12, 1946, Serial No. 715,849

1 Claim.

This invention relates to bookkeeping accessories, and more particularly to a posting tray for temporarily holding a pack of ledger cards in front of a bookkeep'ng machine, prior to the transfer of said cards to the typewriter section of said machine.

One object'of the present invention is to provide a posting tray of the above nature which will enab"e the bookkeeper while sitting in front of a bookkeeping machine to perform the post'ng with less motions, greater speed, more comfort, less fatigue, and increased efiiciency.

A further object is to provide a posting tray of the above nature which will be attached to the ibookkeeping machine in a position slightly above the operators lap so as to permit her to work closer to sa d machine, and thus reduce the-labor (of-posting data upon the ledged cards as they are successively removed from said tray.

A furtherobject is to provide a device of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very efficient and durable in use.

:iWith these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

In the drawings:

; Fig. 1 represents a top plan View of a bookkeeping machine on which the improved post'ng tray has been installed, and showing at the left hand and right hand sides of said machine, respectively, a check-holding tray and a ledger file which are used inv conjunction with the present invention. 1 Fig. 2 is'a side View of a posting tray showing a pack of ledger cards located therein-the front portion of the bookkeeping machine being shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the posting tray, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking downwardly.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the posting tray, shown by itself.

The improved ledger card posting tray herein disclosed was designed especially for the Burroughs bookkeeping machine, but is not necessarily limited to such use.

Referring now to the drawings, in when like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter T indicates generally the improved posting tray which is provided with a substantially horizontal rear base flange i0.

In contact with the flange I0 is a horizontal adjustable siide II having a pair of parallel slots l2 (Fig. 3) adjacent the ends thereof for receiving a pair of bolts I3, which when tightened by thumb nuts l4 and washers l5 serve to hold the flange H2 in any desired adjusted position.

The posting tray T is adapted to be attached to a standard type of Burroughs bookkeeping machine H5, in the manner shown in Fig. 2. The tray T comprises an upwardly-extend'ng rear wall ll, at the bottom of which is a forwardlyextending base flange [8 inclined at an angle of substantially degrees from the rear wall]? so as to permit a pack P of ledger cards Elia to rest upon the flange 18 in such a manner that the outer upper corner of said pack forms an acute angle. The top of the front card will thus extend slightly above the remainder of the cards of the pack P, to faci'itate the easy removal of said front card from said pack.

In order to support the base flange l8, provision is made of a pair of inclined side straps I9, 2!], connecting the ends of said flange 8 to the rear wall I! of the tray.

The rear base flange I0 is provided with a narrow depending front rib 2l, adapted to be secured to an intermediate point of the rear wall I? of the tray T, as by means of three horizontally arranged rivets or bolts 22.

In order to adjust the vertical length of the posting tray T, provision is made of an upper extension plate 23 havng sliding contact with the rear wall ll. The plate 23 has a rearwardly inclined tapered section 24 at the top of which is a down-turned short rear hook flange 25 for engaging behind an upper front shoulder 25a of the bookkeeping machine 15.

The upper plate 23 is provided with a pair of paralel vertical slots 25, 21, adjacent the sides thereof, for receiving a pair of headed lock'ng bolts 28, 29 which may be secured tightly in position by means of a pair of thumb nuts 3E], 31 and washers 32, 33.

The numeral 34 indicates a check tray, adapted to rest upon a table at the left of the bookkeeping machine it, and the numeral 35 represents a ledger card drawer located in a ledger file 35 at the right of said bookkeeping machine.

' Operation In assemblng the posting tray T, the rear hook 25 of the upper extension plate 23 will be engaged behind the shoulder 25a of the: bookkeeping machine IG, permitting said posting tray to be suspended in a slightly inclined position, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

By adjusting the rear slide H with respect to the rear flange [5, the operator will be permitted to tilt the tray to the most convenient angle for viewing the indicia on the ledger carols Eda.

In use, the ledger cards l8a will be successively removed from the tray T and inserted in the bookkeeping machine l6. After posting, the ledger cards may be transferred to the ledger drawer 35 in the ledger file 36.

The tray T is preferably made of metal having a black finish conforming to the color of the bookkeeping machine, and the front Opening thereof allows a c'ear view of the ledger card I8a throughout its entire height.

The upper extension plate 23 may be adjusted according to the size of the ledger cards to be posted.

In operation, the bookkeeper will first remove a pack of 200 or more cards with her right hand from the ledger drawer 35 and place them in the posting tray T. She will then remove the front or other card 18a desired from said pack with her left hand and place it in the bookkeeping machine. It.

After posting the necessary items on the ledger card I8a, she will remove it with her right hand from the machine l8 and will replace it in the ledger file 36.

By means of the present invention, instead of requiring the operator to reach into the ledger once for every ledger card l8a, she reaches only once for the entire pack P. Also instead of requiring her to turn her head, first to the left to look at the checks to be posted, and then to the right to inspect the ledger, a distance of approximately two and one-half feet, causing her to twist her head and body for each individual card, it will now merely be necessary by means of the present invention for the operator to shift her eyes from the tray on her left to the posting tray directly in front of her, a distance of less than one foot. This permits her to use a simple set of motions, employing her left hand to put the ledger card in the machine, and her right hand to remove said card from the machine and place it in the ledger drawer.

One advantage of the improved posting tray is that it may be used for the monthly transfer of balances from any statement to any ledger card.

The present invention has been tested over a long period of time, and has been'found to increase greatly the speed and eificiency of book.- keeping operators.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure, but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claim.

Having thus fully disclosed the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent is:

In a posting tray for a bookkeeping machine having a raised shoulder at the forward end of its upper surface, an inclined rear wall having on the front thereof a base flange upwardly and forwardly inclined in relation to said rear wall for supporting a pack of cards visibly with the top edge of the front card elevated above the remaining cards to facilitate its removal therefrom, an upper extension plate having a reducedin-width tapered upper section engaged flat-wise against an upper portion of said rear wall, said extension plate having an upper rearwardly-extending portion inclined upwardly with respect thereto and provided with a downwardly-extending hook at its extremity adapted to engage over said raised shoulder of the bookkeeping machine for suspending said tray thereon, the lower portion of said rear wall having adjustable rearwardly extending means for holding said lower wall portion selectively at different distances from the front of the bookkeeping machine, whereby the tray and the cards supported therein may be adjusted as to both inclination and elevation with respect to the machine, and the inclined rear wall may be mounted at the same distance from the operators eyes irrespective of the length adjustment for the ledger cards employed, said adjustable rearwardly extending holding means comprising a rigid bottom brace, and means clamping said slide for rearward and forward adjustment in relation to said bottom brace.

RAYMOND A. PHAN r-M REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

